Feb 22– According to the US, state-sponsored Russian hackers have illicitly obtained detailed information about the development and deployment of US weapons vis-a-vis a breach of American defense contractors.

Although the information acquired is not of a classified nature, it does provide “significant insight” into US weapons platforms, development and deployment timelines.

State-backed hackers

This blatant show of bravado reveals how state-backed hackers have gone about gathering information. The intrusion affected military contractors across the entire military apparatus, from the Air Force to the Space Force.

Reports concerning these activities emerge just as US officials brace for a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the border of which is lined with troops and blood banks.

In the context of the Ukraine crisis, US government officials state that no evidence exists regarding a cyber threat to the US homeland.

Contractors targeted

If state-backed Russian hackers can obtain blueprints for US military weapons and technologies, they can provide them to their own government, which can build more capable and sophisticated versions than those belonging to US-based counterparts.

In other words, knowledge of adversary strategy allows for better domestic strategy development.

Russia’s response

In Washington D.C., the Russian embassy declined immediate comment on the situation.

American officials report that the US Cyber Command, the cyber defense unit of the military, remains on full alert. Efforts on the part of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency in thwarting any cyber espionage attempts and intrusions will continue.

For more on this story, visit CNN.